


Colorful Slumber

by Dreamillusions, eternal_song



Category: Dororo (Anime 2019)
Genre: Angst, Don’t copy to another site, Unreliable Narrator
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-03-30
Updated: 2019-05-02
Packaged: 2019-12-26 22:07:16
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 2
Words: 1,843
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18291170
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Dreamillusions/pseuds/Dreamillusions, https://archiveofourown.org/users/eternal_song/pseuds/eternal_song
Summary: Broke: Hyakkimaru gains his eyes when dororo diesWoke: Hyakkimaru gains his eyes when HE dies(chapter 1 by Dreamillusions, Chapter 2 by eternal_song)





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Liv (eternal_song) is an amazing writer and i'm so glad she helped me writing it. this little guilty pleasure one shot was bred from the amazing discord guys that always feed me with the worst ideas *cackle* while i wrote it (in record time for me), they gave me ideas unknowingly and are probably beating themselves up for worsening my ideas XDXD
> 
> anyways, enjoy~
> 
> p.s.and please comment and tell me how you liked it! i love hearing you guys and i love knowing how you feel after witnessing my baby die *giggle*

Something burned in his eye-sockets and spilled onto his cheeks. He could hear the echo of crying and murmuring.

What… what happened?

He remembered a demon…

Oh, he slayed the demon.

Good…

But why…

Where was he—

 

 

Oh, he remembered. His… father… he came to kill him again? He called him a demon child again? He was a demon… but he was human… Dororo said he was human… but his father sired him… that’s what fathers do according to Dororo…

But…

Why did his eye-sockets burn? Why was everything so… muddy?

His eyelids fluttered open. How strange… there was usually no reason to close them…

Anyways… Dororo… where is his little brother?

 

Why… why is…

 

He felt his little brother’s tiny arms encircle him, a heavy head land on his chest, muffled sobs echoing in his head.

“Aniki… please don’t die… please don’t leave me… I’m so sorry for not being here… I am so sorry I agreed to separate. I’m so sorry… please please _please_ …”

 

Oh, he remembered now… he fought all those people… he… he killed again… he didn’t want to kill again… Dororo was so sad after he killed those people after Mio…

 

Mio…

Dad…

Dororo…

 

A pressure on his stomach. Heat burning his insides yet… he was feeling colder than before… how odd...

“Aniki, please… stay with me. Biwamaru went to get help. Please don’t die!”

Footsteps came closer. He blinked at the souls swirling strangely in his sight.

Dororo growled. “What are you doing here, you bastard! You don’t deserve anything from Aniki! Get lost, you Samurai!” His little brother spit the word like venom.

Oh… Dororo is upset… calm his down… he raised his hand and caressed the familiar cheek. Dororo shifted, the color of his soul swirling into unknown color.

So strange… what was happening to his sight… was he… dying?

Is that why everything is so colorful?

Dororo let out a guttural sob. “Aniki…”

He let his mouth stretch up like Dororo taught him. “Do...ro...ro…”

“Aniki, don’t talk. You need to keep your strength.”

“Big brother—”

“Get lost! Don’t speak to him!” Dororo spat at the other soul… it was Tahomaru… his blood… brother…

He raised his free hand, Tahomaru catching it as it nearly fell. “Big brother?”

He coughed, feeling boiling wetness spill from his throat. Everything became so blurry...

“Aniki!”

“Big brother…”

 

What a strange sight...

 

 

A very… very… blurry one.

 

The new colors moved in place of the souls. White spots glistened and fell. He felt the spots hit his skin. Like tears do...

 

Wait… like tears… his eyes…

 

 

 

Huh… so those were tears…

 

 

 

So cold…

 

 

What a strange sight…

He had never seen those colors before. Dororo looked so… colorful…

 

So he gained his eyes at last...

 

He pulled Dororo’s ‘face’ closer, seeing his colorful form move down, Dororo-shaped blob following it. He thumbed the bubbling white spots, seeing the blob shift under his own colors.

 

 

"Dororo… you're… so… colorful…"

 

 

 

"Aniki…?"

 

 

 

Buzzing vibrated in his head. How annoying… just when he thought he got used to hearing…

 

 

 

“Big brother… have you… your eyes... like mother’s…”

 

 

 

 

 

So hard to hear…

 

But… nice to be… compared to… mama… mama… good… things…

 

“Aniki!”

 

 

 

 

 

So colorful… so peaceful...

 

 

 

 

 

 

What a view…

 

 

 

 

 

Too bad it turned back to darkness…

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

So dark…

 

 

 

 

He felt his consciousness fade away and let it go.

 

 

 

 

And then...

 

 

 

  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

He fell asleep.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Co-creator note: Liv did not actually help that much with the actual words and therefore takes no responsibility for your suffering  
> (my note: she's lying, she is totally responsible :3c)


	2. Now We Are Free

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I haven't been able to stop thinking about [the ending scene of _Gladiator_ ](https://youtu.be/CA_N_QVxbKg)since episode 6 aired, and those who have read my other works know I'm a slut for reunion fic.  
> For the full experience, please listen to ["Now We Are Free"](https://youtu.be/ghxzLw2wRis) on repeat and cry while reading this because that's how I wrote it.  
> ~Liv AKA eternal_song

He felt so heavy. His limbs had a strange weight to them he wasn’t used to. The darkness was comforting, though. Had there been something besides darkness there, for a moment…?

He had regained his eyes, hadn’t he? And he had seen… he had seen Dororo. His little brother. Well, he thought he had. It had been so hard to tell what all the colors were…

He felt as though he was waking from a year-long sleep. His thoughts were sluggish, his body cold, but that was changing. He furrowed his brow in irritation and tried to sink back into that peaceful oblivion. If he woke up, there would be that pain again… he’d have to listen to Dororo crying… he never wanted to hear Dororo cry again. It was worse than the pain.

Against his will, his eyes fluttered open, and he immediately winced and shut them against the bright light shining in. A groan escaped his throat. He cracked open one eyelid again, cautious, and stared up at a bright and flat expanse of color. The light radiated from a circle in the center of it.

_ That must be the sky, _ he thought. He lifted a hand to block the shining circle— was that the sun?

He realized that, though he was awake now, nothing hurt. His body felt odd all over. He sat up and opened the other eye, trying to use his new sense to take stock of his body, but he didn’t really know what he was looking at.

Biwamaru had once told him that demon auras were the color of blood, but he saw none of that color on himself. Nothing hurt.

A more concerning thought hit him, and he swiveled his head around. There was no sign of Dororo.

Dororo had been right there when he’d fallen asleep. The other boy who called him his brother— Tahōmaru— had been there too, but Hyakkimaru was only concerned about Dororo. What if he’d been captured again? What if he was hurt?

He couldn’t see much around him. Tall stems of grass surrounded him on all sides, their physical color so bafflingly different from that of their life energy. It was a warm color, like that of the sun above. Hyakkimaru shakily got to his feet, standing above the plants. The grass seemed to stretch out in all directions, an endless field of… whatever color this was. It was lovely, but it hurt his eyes, and he couldn’t see Dororo.

“Do—” he coughed, cleared his throat, and tried again. “Dororo?”

His voice didn’t carry far. He tried again, louder, and louder still when he received no answer. He thought of the time with the nokosaregumo, when Dororo had almost died while tied to that monster.

It wasn't a comforting thought.

He looked around more, trying to figure out where to start looking. In the distance, he could just barely make out something that wasn’t the color of the grass around it. Perhaps Dororo would have headed for a landmark like that. He started forward, legs unsteady. He must have slept for longer than he thought, to be so uncoordinated.

The landmark grew closer, and he squinted at it as he walked, trying to figure out what it was. He thought he heard laughter coming from it— children’s laughter. Maybe Dororo really was there. The landmark… was that what a house looked like? He walked faster, intent on finding his little brother.

Another sound stopped him

A sound he never thought he’d hear again.

The most wonderful sound in the world, when every other sound hurt to listen to.

He turned towards it. There, in the distance, he saw movement amongst the grass. The figure wore cloth the color of blood, dotted with the white of a pure soul flame. He took a hesitant step towards them, barely daring to believe this was real.

The soft singing drew him forward, and he took care to step softly so the rustling grass wouldn’t obscure the sound.

He closed his eyes, and he could see the soul flame before him. He’d recognize it anywhere. When he opened his eyes again, everything had gone blurry again. Wetness he now recognized as tears slipped down his face.

“Mio…”

She turned to face him. He stopped walking and just… looked at her. He didn’t really know how he knew, but he thought she looked beautiful.

“Hyakkimaru?” Her soul flame— and her face, he guessed— were startled at his appearance before her. Her eyes widened and her mouth opened as if she were about to speak before her face crumpled, her eyes filling with tears as well. He recognized the look from Dororo’s face, just before he’d fallen asleep. Mio took a hesitant step towards him, and he took this as permission to do the same. Soon they stood facing each other, within arm’s reach. She held up a hand and, with hesitant movements, she wiped a thumb across his cheek.

“Hyakkimaru…” She whispered, voice thick. “You’re not supposed to be here yet. You weren’t supposed to die.”

He tilted his head, both in confusion and to chase after her touch.

“Did I… die?” he asked. He didn’t feel dead. But what did he know? Not long ago, he’d been in pain and bleeding. Maybe falling asleep had actually been his death. Mio made a noise like she was holding back on a sob.

“Well, I know I did. If you’re here, so did you.” She ducked her head as her shoulders shook. “You were supposed to survive and get your body back. I was so thankful when I woke up here and you weren’t here, dead like me.”

“I’m… sorry…” Hyakkimaru reached up to brush away one of her tears like she had to him. At his touch, her eyes widened and she grabbed his hand.

“Hyakkimaru… your hand! It’s real!” she stared at it in wonder. He raised his other hand and stared at it, flexing his fingers. Was his quest over, now that he was here?

He pulled his hand from hers and put one on either side of her face as he had so long ago in the temple, but this time he could feel the smoothness and warmth of her skin beneath his own. He felt a smile creep onto his face as she looked up at him.

“Your eyes… they’re nice.” Her cheeks darkened, blood coming closer to the surface of the skin and warming them beneath his palms. Her gaze darted downwards. “And I still… like your hands…”

He had nothing to say to that, so he continued to marvel at being able to see her and feel her beneath his hands—  _ his _ hands. He closed his eyes and watched her soul flame burn. It was just like he remembered it, pure white and gentle.

His eyes opened again when he felt her arms snake around his sides. Before he could react, she had pulled him tight against her. He wrapped his arms around her shoulders and rested his head against hers. It seemed like the right thing to do.

“I missed you so much,” she whispered in his ear. He nodded, feeling the same.

He regretted dying. He regretted leaving Dororo alone again. He wished he could apologize to him one last time, but he knew that Dororo would survive. He understood Mio’s sadness at him being here, because he hoped that Dororo would take a long time to join them. For now, though, he had the person he had missed the most here in his arms.

And if that was death, he didn't regret anything in his life. 

_ See you later, otōto.  _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Dreamillusions: I'm so proud of you, liv. *wipes happy tear*


End file.
